


Torque

by blythechild



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Chores, Dialogue, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Innuendo, Male-Female Friendship, Oblivious, Romantic Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-11
Updated: 2013-07-11
Packaged: 2017-12-19 04:46:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/879622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blythechild/pseuds/blythechild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reid gives Prentiss pointers on proper screwing technique.</p><p> </p><p>This is a work of fanfiction and as such I do not claim ownership over the characters herein. It was created as a personal entertainment. This story is suitable for those over the age of 14.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Torque

**Author's Note:**

> This is a response to a dialog prompt (I didn’t say ‘harder’, I said ‘more efficiently’) from the comment_fic community on Livejournal.
> 
> It is sort of a follow-up to [Put Your Back Into It](http://archiveofourown.org/works/827415).

“Em, _please_ , this is agonizing.” Reid gasped while trying to reposition himself. “Just grab hold of the shaft and pull firmly.”

“Spencer, I’m doing everything I can here. You’ve gotta be a little more patient – I’m not used to handling one this large… and my hands are sweating. It’s hard to get a good grip.”

“I know, I know… but the tension here is going to make my knees buckle soon…” 

“Here, maybe if I try it this way…”

“Try rotating from your hips – it’ll help you achieve torque more efficiently.”

Prentiss gave Reid a questionable look and then bit her lip, diving back in and going for broke.

“No, wait!” Reid yelped and then hissed viciously through his teeth.

“What?!”

“Not _harder_! You caught me there – Christ, that hurt!”

“Well, hell, Spence! You said pull it harder!”

“I didn’t say ‘harder’, I said ‘more efficiently’.”

“Oh my god. You and your linguistic semantics!”

“There’s nothing semantic about the difference between ‘hard’ and ‘efficient’! They are two entirely different concepts, Em!”

“This is not the moment to get didactic with me – I’ll just leave you here and you can finish this off yourself.”

“You wouldn’t dare…” Reid growled lowly.

“I might.” Prentiss couldn’t help but bat her eyelashes at him, just to prove her point.

“Alright, I apologize. I need you, okay?”

Prentiss looked him over and saw that he _was_ indeed shaking pretty badly. Teasing him while he was under this kind of strain didn’t seem quite so entertaining anymore.

“Okay, hon, hold on. I’ll try this again…”

She reached forward, grabbed the jammed power drill by the shaft and – using her _hips_ \- yanked until it came free from the kitchen cabinet that Reid was struggling to keep in place. She let out a cry of triumph as she then scrabbled to free the drill head, and set up the tool to attempt to screw the anchor bolts into the kitchen studs again. A minute and eight anchor bolts later, Reid gratefully slumped to the floor with a groan – and the cabinet didn’t come crashing down on him.

“That time, I really _did_ pull something…” He rubbed his shoulder and caught sight of his scraped and bloodied hands.

“But so manly.” Prentiss smirked, balancing the industrial drill on her hip.

“Don’t bother appealing to my vanity. I don’t like you at all anymore – I’m over it.” He tried to sound hurt but she caught him smiling and ruffled his hair into a dusty, tangled mess.

“Ummm… would you guys like to be left alone?” Morgan’s head peeked around the corner of the kitchen door frame, his expression approaching prudish shock.

“What? Why?” Reid asked.

“Well… I’ve been in the other room listening, and this sounds less like construction help and more like foreplay to me.”

“There’s no hope for you, Derek.” Prentiss rolled her eyes. Reid could feel his ears turning red. “This is the last time I give up a weekend to help you with your latest Money Pit project.”

“I’m just sayin’ – I could go on a coffee run. It’d give you a good fifteen minutes… right here on the filthy subfloor… _kinky_ ”

Prentiss threw a cut end of a 2x4 at his grinning face. He ducked behind the doorframe and they both heard a mournful ‘watch the mouldings!’. She turned back to Reid and offered him a hand up.

“Screw him, and screw all of this _screwing_. I say we deserve a break. A coffee run sounds good – wanna come along?”

He nodded and mumbled, trying to stop the blush spreading across his face. “I think that I could use something a little harder than coffee right now.”


End file.
